1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to infant car seats for seating and transporting infants and small children.
2. Description of the Related Art
Infant car seats are commonly used to conveniently and safely seat and transport infants and small children. Such car seats generally comprise a molded plastic seat shell having a seat back for supporting the infant and a U-shaped handle that extends across the seat shell for carrying the seat shell.
Infant car seat systems include various other elements that can be used in connection with the car seat, such as strollers and car seat bases for supporting the car seat on the seat of a vehicle. The interconnection mechanisms between the car seat and the other elements, however, can often be difficult or confusing to operate.
Attachment of the car seat base to the vehicle seat is typically accomplished by routing the vehicle seat belt through various slots in the base, which can often be difficult and time consuming. In addition, the slots in the base are typically linear, and do not very well accommodate the range of seat belt entry angles that results from the differing locations of the seat belt buckles in various vehicle makes and models. Accordingly, the seat belt can become twisted and caught in the slots.
Some existing car seat bases include adjustment mechanisms to allow adjustment of the angular orientation of the car seat when the car seat is situated on the base. Such adjustment mechanisms, however, are typically located at the end of the base positioned against the vehicle seat back, making them difficult to reach and operate. In addition, the adjustment mechanisms typically operate by raising or lowering the end of the base adjacent the seat back, which can interfere with, and require readjustment of, the connection between the base and the vehicle seat.
Some car seat systems include strollers to which the car seat can be connected. Such strollers typically include a bar that extends across the frame of the stroller to support the car seat. In some systems, a detachable tray can be connected to the bar when the car seat is disconnected from the stroller to allow a larger child to be seated in the stroller seat. The tray can be used to support items such as drink cups, food and toys. Because the tray is detachable from the bar, however, the tray can easily be misplaced.